Reasonably Happy
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Sep 5, 2020
- 2 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. SITTING ROOM - DAY
Phone in hand, PETER is checking the answer requests on his Quora app.
PETER (V.O.): If you could have a safari animal as a pet, which would you choose?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): This is a hypothetical - an imagined proposition that won't come true.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Have I ever daydreamed to have an East African animal as a pet?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): No, my mind has never wandered that far. If I've to dream, I'd try to dream closer and make it relevant.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But I did have fantasy of keeping a Chinese animal as a pet.
Act 2
INT. SITTING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
FLASHBACK
INT. HOME - DAY (2001)
Peter (47) and his YOUNGER SON (3) are watching TV.
YOUNGER SON (Seriously): Dad, can I keep a giant panda as a pet?
PETER (V.O.): I've never said no to my good boy. How could I respond to his request?
His younger son sees Peter's body language.
YOUNGER SON (Cont'd): Dad, just a very small one will do.
END FLASHBACK
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'): I'm his father and it's my role to provide for a solution.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I didn't say yes as I knew I couldn't deliver. I didn't say no either...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was trying to evade my responsibility, hoping my son would appreciate the situations when he got older.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Years later, he got two small Brazilian tortoises as his pets.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The tortoises have grown up now, and so is our son.
Refocusing on his phone screen.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But if I could have a pet, I'd like to have a small giant panda.
Peter types his answer on the phone screen.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Now he has returned and is in self-isolation in our other unit. My wife and I are happy to provide anything he wants.
TV news have distracted Peter's attention.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, a powerful typhoon is approaching Northern Kyushu. Our elder daughter lives there.
Peter looks at the sunshine through the window.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We're miles apart. She used to be the nearest to us, when compared with her brother in Australia and her sister in UK.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I checked out her unit last November, I found that her living environment is quite OK.
Keeping his fingers crossed.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I hope she'll be alright.
Peter takes a deep breath.
Act 3
INT. SITTING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
FLASHBACK
INT. SITTING ROOM - NIGHT (2000)
Peter's FAMILY are tending different household chores. Looking out of the window, the ELDER DAUGHTER (4) has discovered something.
ELDER DAUGHTER: Oh, the moon has broken!
Following their elder daughter's pointing direction, Peter and his wife see a new moon.
PETER: Oh yes, the full moon is off duty. That's the new moon. Isn't it cute?
RETURN TO PRESENT
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That's some 20 years ago.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Our flights to visit her during the mid-Autumn Festival have also been cancelled. We didn't know COVID-19 is so unstoppable.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There're two ingredients of happiness. One is s personal responsibility and the other is decisive optimism.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Yes, we're reasonably happy.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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